Converting to Bushels

Date: 05/18/2002 at 23:35:14
From: Carol
Subject: bushels and feet

If a wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide, how many 
bushels of wheat will it hold?

Date: 05/19/2002 at 08:15:40
From: Doctor Sarah
Subject: Re: bushels and feet

Hi Carol - thanks for writing to Dr. Math.

You have probably already figured out that the volume of your wagon 
box is 60 cubic feet. So you just need to know how many cubic feet 
there are in a bushel.

You can find information about the bushel in Russ Rowlett's _How Many? 
A Dictionary of Units of Measurement_:

   http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictB.html#bushel 

  bushel (bu)
  a traditional unit of volume used for measuring dry commodities 
  such as grains and fruits. In the United States, the customary
  bushel is based on an old British unit known as the Winchester
  bushel. This unit dates to the early fourteenth century, at least:
  King Edward I defined the bushel to be 8 gallons in 1303. 

  The form used in the U.S. was legalized by Parliament in 1696. 
  One U.S. or Winchester bushel equals 4 pecks or 32 (dry) quarts; 
  this is a volume of 2150.42 cubic inches or about 1.2445 cubic 
  feet, and represents the volume of a cylindrical container 18.5
  inches (47.0 cm) in diameter and 8 inches (20.3 cm) deep. The  
  U.S. bushel holds about 35.239 07 liters. 

  Traditionally, there is also a heaped bushel, which is 27.8%
  (sometimes 25%) larger than a regular bushel. The regular bushel 
  is also called struck measure to indicate that the bushels have 
  been struck, or leveled, rather then heaped. 

  The origin of the word "bushel" is unclear; some scholars 
  believe it derives from an ancient Celtic unit, but most 
  believe it is of medieval French origin, probably a slang 
  name for a wooden crate (the French word for wood is bois).

- Doctor Sarah, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ 

Date: 05/19/2002 at 23:16:45
From: Carol
Subject: bushels and feet

Thank you so much. I really appreciate the way you help, without just 
giving the answer.